Man found guilty in wreck that killed Richmond nun

October 31, 2011

Oct. 31--MANASSAS -- Two Richmond-area nuns who survived a head-on collision that killed Sister Denise Mosier in August 2010 testified today in the trial of the man charged with murder and drunken driving in the wreck.

Carlos Martinelly Montano, who authorities have said was an illegal immigrant from Bolivia in the process of deportation at the time of the wreck, pleaded guilty to five felony charges stemming from the collision, including involuntary manslaughter, and not guilty to a count of felony murder in Prince William County Circuit Court.

Judge Lon E. Farris is withholding judgment on all six counts until he completes hearing testimony in the felony murder case, and is expected to rule today on the charges.

Sister Charlotte Lange, who along with Sister Connie Ruth Lupton was seriously injured in the wreck, testified for 20 minutes, vividly recalling the moments before the accident and the minutes afterward before she lost consciousness.

Lange, the driver of the vehicle, told the court she was able to use the cell phone of a witness who came to the car to call the Prince William monastery to which the three Benedictine sisters were headed to report there had been a terrible accident.

During a break in the proceeding, Lange was asked if this was the first time she had seen the accused, who sat less than 10 feet from her in the courtroom as she testified.

"I did not look at him," she said.

The sisters described the permanent, extensive injuries they suffered. Lupton told the court that "a bone from a corpse" was grafted onto one of her legs, which remains shorter than the other.

Also testifying was Cecilia Dwyer, the mother superior of St. Benedict's Monastery in Bristow. When asked about the conditions of the nuns who were injured, she said, "Those of us who know them well know they are struggling."

Martinelly did not speak during the early part of the proceeding but rose to examine charts and other evidence on display.

The crash led Prince William County to file suit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to get information about illegal immigrants it had reported under a 2007 ordinance. The wreck also resulted in an investigation by Homeland Security and a decision by the state to refuse federal work permit cards as proof of lawful residence. Martinelly had used that document to get a driver's license while scheduled for deportation.

Martinelly pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, two counts of maiming as a result of driving while intoxicated, driving on a suspended or revoked license and a third DUI offense within five years.

The judge dismissed a motion to deny the felony murder charge. He said the third-offense DWI charge against Martinelly when he had been ordered not to drive was among the factors warranting his trial on the felony murder accusation.

(This has been a breaking news update. Check back for more details as they become available. Read more in tomorrow's Richmond Times-Dispatch.)